Most dog, cat or animal owners know that it can be difficult to visually track a pet in a dark environment, such as during the night time, or at times when visibility is low or reduced. For example, during the evening or night hours, or during times of darkness, when a dog owner takes his or her dog for a walk or lets his or her dog roam around an open area, whether in a back yard, fenced-in area, park, dog park or other area, it is often difficult to maintain visual contact with the dog due to the low light environment or reduced visibility. There can also be an increase in danger when passing motorists are not able to see the animal at night or during times of reduced visibility. It would, therefore, be beneficial to have a device that can illuminate and that can be attached to or worn by a dog, pet or other animal in order to increase its visibility, not only to its owner, but also to other people and motorists nearby.
It should be noted that dog or pet collars, and the like, that secure around the neck portion of a dog, cat or other pet, are well known and come in a variety of sizes, generally suited to fit different sized animals. Many of these collars are intended to be worn at all times and often, but do not always, carry tags, such as name tags identifying owner information, vaccination tags, rabies tags, etc. Such collars must be worn loosely as they are secured around the neck and collar of the dog or animal. Otherwise, if the collar were tight or snug against the animal's neck, there would be a high risk of choking or injuring the animal. Because of this, these collars can often rotate, slide or otherwise move quite a bit as the animal moves about.
Thus, in the event a portion of a collar intended to be worn about the neck of an animal includes a light source, such as an LED, for example, the loosely fitting collar could rotate or otherwise move such that the positioning of the light or LED could be inadvertently located in an inconvenient or undesirable position. For instance, while a light on the top of the dog or animal may be desired, the collar could rotate or move, thereby causing the light to be inadvertently positioned at the bottom of the animal's neck, shining downward. Also, depending on the particular breed or style of grooming, many dogs and animals include a significant amount of hair and skin around the neck area. This hair and/or skin can cover a portion of the collar, for example, a portion of the collar that may include an LED or light source.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an illuminated pet belt that can be securely positioned, for example, in a tight, snug or pressing relation, around the back and chest of an animal, e.g., in a position rearward or behind the animal's front legs. By positioning the belt rearward of the animal's front legs, the belt can be tight or substantially pressed against the body of the animal without risking injury to the animal, such as by choking. In this regard, the proposed belt includes a strap that has an amount of lengthwise elasticity that can be stretched and secured around the body of the animal in a snug or pressed manner. This restricts rotational movement of the belt about the body as the animal moves, thereby maintaining the belt in the desired position.